FEMA Conducts Earthquake Preparedness Drills in the Pacific Northwest

As much of the national media focused attention on the presidential primary races underway on Tuesday in the State of California, the Federal Emergency Management Administration (“FEMA“) conducted a large-scale earthquake drill impacting Northern California on the 7th. The decision to stage the preparedness exercises on the same day as the election brought protests from some residents of the far western state.

Just a day earlier, on Monday, residents of California experienced a very shallow 3.1 magnitude earthquake in the southern part of the state. With its epicenter located some 16 miles from Palm Desert and 18 miles outside Coachella, the quake struck just 5.6 miles beneath the Earth’s surface. The U.S. Geological Survey indicated that people in La Quinta reported feeling tremors at 5:13 p.m. No one sustained injuries in the event.